Vince Carter awoke in the hotel room suddenly, and for one terrifying minute he had no idea where he was. He picked up the phone, got an outside line, dialed the 416.

“Hello, Toronto Raptors, how may I help you?”

“This is going to sound strange, but who are we playing tonight?”

“The Raptors play the Pistons. Tickets are still available if you’re…”

“No, I don’t need tickets, I’m on the team. But if we’re playing at home tonight, why am I in a hotel room in… Um, hang on. Portland? My name is Vince Carter, and I’m on the tea—”

Dial tone.

Carter got up, stretched. Went to the door, grabbed his complimentary copy of USA Today. Took a look at the front page and sat right back down. 2009?! How could this be? A few phone calls revealed the rest. Vince Carter was a Net. A jump shooter. A has-been. He tried to remember this, but the last thing he could recall was jumping over some French center at the 2000 Olympics and screaming his head off. Everything after that was a blank.

He rode the bus to the arena, went through shootaround, started the game, wondering where nine years could go. Then it happened: a drive to the basket, a big guy waiting. Ah.

You may also find it troublesome to fathom that Jennings’ appearance on the cover of SLAM 128 and our man Lang Whitaker’s cover story on Jennings and Ricky Rubio hit newsstands four years ago this summer.

It’s been a whirlwind of twists and turns for the Compton-born guard ever since he forwent chances to play at likes of Arizona, Kansas and Kentucky, as the top prospect of the Class of 2008, to ball with Lottomatica Roma. Of course, like any Hollywood-like sports story, he struggled to make the transition to the Euroleague and then slipped in the 2009 Draft to Milwaukee at No. 10. Press the fast-forward button to 36X and you skip past his 55-point outburst, some pick and rolls with Andrew Bogut, another SLAM cover, endless poor shots with co-gunner Monta Ellis and you arrive at this summer.

With confusion mounting and steadfastly revolving around Jennings and Nikola Pekovic’s empty offer sheets, Twitter blew up with jokes about the Oak Hill product turning down a four-year/$40 million extension before last season. Yet at the crack of 5:30 p.m. yesterday, Jennings’ Bucks drama was over with the click of Marc Stein and Adrian Wojnarowski’s pressing send. He’s now the newest Detroit Piston and we’re all being held captive by the new-look Bad Boys, waiting to see what this ridiculous roster will produce on the court.

But if you sift through all of the negative hype, ball-hog criticisms and high expectations, Jennings is still the pioneer kid who took a risk and went to Italy while nonchalantly accepting an offer to become the face of Under Armour Basketball.

Turning back to Lang’s feature, Viva La Vida, if you take his quotes—from before he was drafted—out of context and apply them to his current task of leading the newly assembled motley Detroit Pistons team, it’s not hard to imagine Jennings is excited and determined for a fresh start in Mo-Town—something he told the Toronto Sun he’s “happy” about.

Take a look.

“I mean, the money is nice, but I love challenges. I feel like my whole life I’ve always took on challenges. When it was me in 11th grade going against Derrick Rose, me playing against OJ Mayo, Eric Gordon, all those top guys. So you know it’s nothing but another challenge to me. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I knew coming in it was going to be a challenge, a real big challenge.”

In 2009, Jennings said the above about taking on the challenge of surpassing college and playing a year overseas before entering the NBA Draft. Today, his challenges are now leading the Pistons back to the Playoffs, fitting with Josh Smith and getting the entire team the ball while still getting some of his—all after a lower contract than he initially craved. Oh, and meshing with new head coach Mo Cheeks too.

“Well, I mean, it’s a different style. So it’s not like, you know, I can come out and score 30 a game. I’m not gonna do that—or have 20 and 10 a game. ‘Cause it’s more of a team game and I’m sharing minutes right now.”

Not many know that Jennings actually struggled to adjust from high school to Italy, resulting in putrid averages of 7.6 points and 1.6 assists per contest over Roma’s 16 games in ’08-09. His rationale for the statistical blunder was inconsistent playing time and sacrificing for the betterment of his team. He’ll have to do something similar in Detroit, a team whose new roster desperately needs a point guard to run whatever style of play Cheeks instills in the Palace. That will likely mean sacrificing the 17.5 a night he dropped in Milwaukee.

“A lot of these kids, you know, that get drafted from overseas, they’re playing on a lot of good teams. And all they ever do is just show potential that they can play. And, you know, fortunately I’m on a great team right now—a good team with a lot of talent—so if I was on another team that wasn’t so good, they just let you do whatever.

Compared to many European players who get drafted, stay overseas and eventually never come to the League, Jennings used his time playing with a good club like Roma to learn and grow before coming back stateside. Instead of wasting away on Bucks team that is merely attempting to be an 8-seed in the East every year, Jennings is going to a team that at least has a chance to compete for the second round of the Playoffs next season.

“I would have had those numbers. Instead, I’m on a good team, where I’m learning, and I’m just in a great situation. So I’m not worried about what people say about the numbers and stuff like that.”

Again, Jennings numbers’ reflected his bumpy career overseas. Ultimately, if he sacrifices his scoring in Detroit, his lower numbers might attract criticism and naysayers claiming he’s regressing after a pig payday. But that likely won’t be the case if the Pistons are doing well in the win column and his change of playing style might morph him into an top-tier point guard in the L.

Even with his rocky road through Italy, Jennings never lost faith that the NBA would take interest in him and his NBA future was bright. People might be criticizing the Pistons for capping themselves out for the near future while taking a “screw it” risk on their…for the lack of a better term, weird roster. But they’re going to be an entertaining team to watch and everyone is going to tune in.

Here it is, 18 months later, and fans across globe have gotten a chance to watch Lance Stephenson play. The hype was set at a high level after Lance appeared with John Wall on cover of Ish 128. Did he live up to his lofty ‘Born Ready’ handle? Maybe not. The more pertinent question is: Did he need to?

Last time we checked, not many freshmen average 12.3 points and 5.4 boards per. He’ll be back next season, and that’s not a bad place to start.

…Everyone interested in who their favorite sport’s future stars are, that is. As far as content in our magazine, there is no disputing that SLAM is always looking ahead. We featured Ricky Rubio when few people had ever even heard of him. We put the spotlight on Lance Stephenson before he’d finished his freshman year of high school, and our Punks section brings you the nation’s best prep players on a monthly basis (such as Brandon Jennings about one year ago). You get the point.

So what made us flip the usual script of putting future stars in the mag while the NBA’s top dogs grace the cover? A dash of daring combined with two unique opportunities and the understanding that Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade aren’t going anywhere. The daring comes from our willingness to try something different. Is it just stars who sell SLAM, or have we reached the point in this, our 15th year, where basketball-loving magazine buyers can trust that even if they don’t instantly realize the face(s) on our illustrious front page, the players must be dope because we say they are? The SLAM staff is obviously counting on the latter.

The opportunities came from two once-this-season meetings. The first, which jump-started the entire conversation regarding this cover, was knowing that Brandon’s Lottomattica Roma team was meeting Ricky’s DKV Joventut in Spain last December 11. Sure, we figured every hoop journalist worth their salt would be hounding these great prospects that week, but it couldn’t hurt to ask for some time, right? Well, either no one asked or these guys chose us, because they graciously gave us more than two hours of their time.

Once we had the big international cover locked up, we decided to cover our bases with a look at the two most compelling prep guards in America. Sure enough, just 10 days after Ricky and Brandon were in the same city at the same time, John Wall and Lance were in the same city at the same time. We reached out to those guys, dispatched Kelly Kline (see below) for her second big job in two weeks, and arguably the coolest split cover in SLAM history was born. We sat on them for a minute while Kobe and DWade did their thing, but with high school All-American games here and Draft buzz increasing, the time had come. The future is now.

With conference play in full swing throughout the NCAA, a few teams have emerged as real juggernauts capable of lasting until April’s first weekend. Of them, Kentucky boasts arguably the nation’s best, most explosive, coveted talent. That man is point guard John Wall, currently second in the country in assists per game and the apple of everyone’s eye. Yet, before he was a SportsCenter mainstay, Wall graced the cover of SLAM 128, and was featured in a story where Aggrey Sam artfully and accurately put the world on notice about what Wall is capable of. John’s covermate, Lance Stephenson, is also gearing his team towards success. In the tough Big East, Cincinnati is a respectable 11-6, hoping to continue towards the head of the pack with Stephenson’s help. And, while Lance has not had the immediate impact on the college game that many once believed he would, let’s just say you should watch yourself before sleeping on him. On the cover, we told you these two were “Ready to Rock the NCAA.” Now they’ve gotten the chance and…well…yeah.—Adam Fleischer

words Aggrey Sam

Watching them play in December at the City of Palms Classic in Florida, it’s easy to start thinking about the future, specifically June of 2010, when they’ll be on the podium at MSG, shaking hands with David Stern. Neither of their teams won this event, the best high school tourney this season, but it’s obvious—whether it’s the athletic point guard from Raleigh, NC, splitting defenders on a spin move and then splitting two more defenders with a 360 layup; or the rugged shooting guard from Brooklyn shaking a quick perimeter defender with a crossover, then taking a hard foul from a post player for an and one—these two senior guards are special. Not exciting-high-school-player-special or gonna-be-good-in college special, but special-in-the-League special.

Let’s stop being vague: Lance Stephenson and John Wall aren’t just the cream of the 2009 high school crop—they are poised to be the cream of the crop during expected pit stops on the college level and beyond.

A little premature? Maybe…if you haven’t seen them hoop. Start with Stephenson—after all, you were introduced to him in a feature in these very pages before he started his sophomore year. The next in line at Brooklyn’s famed Lincoln High School, the alma mater of Steph and Bassy, Lance was talked about as NYC’s next big thing since his now-legendary summer 2005 tete-á-tete with then-rising high school senior OJ Mayo at ABCD Camp. The hype has cooled since.

Perhaps it’s the fact that he’s been on the national scene so long, perhaps it’s the scrutiny he draws on and off the court, perhaps it’s his all-business, chip-on-his-shoulder, on-court disposition—but it seems lately some media, coaches and fans have soured on the kid they call “Born Ready.”

“It’s good that people know me, but now, whenever I play, it’s like, ‘Oh, that’s Lance,’ so they play the hardest defense against me,” says Stephenson, who recently passed Bassy to become New York State’s all-time leading scorer and was on the verge of his fourth straight city championship as we went to press. “But I get ready for that in practice with my teammates. I tell them not to treat me any different.”

“What’s so special about it is that these goals were preset,” adds Lance Sr, Stephenson’s father and AAU coach, better known as “Stretch.” ”It’s good to see all the hard work pay off. As a parent, I just tell him to play hard and let his numbers and accomplishments speak for themselves.”

They don’t paint the complete picture, however. Stephenson is a 6-6, 220-pound tank of a shooting guard, with a yo-yo handle, tremendous range on his jumper and the moves to either go around or through any defender. Imagine a smaller, more skilled Ron Artest physically, but with the mentality Ron-Ron has on the defensive end transferred to the other side of the ball. His game, honed by battling older, bigger players in his Coney Island neighborhood and during summer leagues throughout the Big Apple, is the epitome of a scorer.

“I just try to work on different things every game, but I play against older guys to get better,” says Stephenson. “When I play against my age group, I don’t think I’m as good sometimes because I might take bad shots.”

Are there more athletic players? Sure. Are there kids with more aesthetically-pleasing games out there? Without a doubt. Prospects with more long-term potential than him? It’s possible. But right now, if you need a kid in the prep ranks to get it done, Lance Stephenson is the guy you go to, hands down.

If you’re talking potential, Lance’s cover partner, John Wall, is probably your man. Read enough stories on ballplayers and the phrase “runs the floor like a gazelle” is sure to pop up. Well, Wall, a senior at Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, NC, is more like a cheetah. The kid simply moves at warp speed. The Carolina native is a 6-4, 190-pound point guard with playmaking ability that is born, not learned. With his video-game handle, exceptional length, uncanny court vision and kangaroo-type hops, he’s a highlight waiting to happen.

“He’s playing on a slightly different level than everyone around him,” says Brian Clifton, Wall’s AAU coach with D-One Sports. “When you look at all his physical attributes and that he understands that his job is to distribute the ball—there have been guys who have been as athletic as him, but not as tall, and guys as tall but not as athletic, and guys who have both, but they think their job is jacking up shots and lighting up the scoreboard. What makes John special is that he understands getting his teammates involved is what wins ballgames.”

Wall’s ankle-breaking crossovers, in-traffic windmills and three-quarter court bounce passes were unknown to the masses as little as two years ago. Invited to Chicago in ’07 to try out for what was then called Reebok’s All-American camp, Wall quickly won over the grassroots gatekeepers with his show-stopping play. A star was born.

“That’s when I started taking basketball more seriously,” Wall recalls. “I didn’t think the success would come that fast, but after the first couple of minutes of went by, I knew I could play with those guys.”

His upward plateau continued, and after destroying the camp and AAU circuit last summer, Wall became a consensus top-five senior prospect in the nation. It was a far cry from his days at Raleigh’s Broughton High School, where he was viewed as a selfish—albeit talented—malcontent, who was cut from the team (what is it with these Carolina high school coaches?), who would never get it together in time to reap the rewards of his vast abilities.

“I’m so proud of him…I’m pleased with John’s progress as a man, where he came from and where he was headed,” says Clifton. “It’s been a lot to come from virtual obscurity to where he is now. From when I first saw him play at 12 years old, he always had blinding speed, but now he has more confidence, he’s a better leader and a better teammate.”

Wall, raised by a single mother battling health issues, was always a talent, but what stood out more was his attitude, a critique Stephenson hears now. Yet, while Stephenson has been in the public eye for what seems like forever and Wall is just getting introduced to stardom, neither is a stranger to controversy.

Dwon Clifton, the younger brother of Brian, took a job on Baylor’s coaching staff last summer. With Baylor being one of the finalists to land Wall—along with Memphis, Kansas, Miami, Oregon, hometown North Carolina State and latecomers Duke and Wake Forest—speculation is that Baylor hired him strictly to land Wall. While it’s obvious that it doesn’t hurt—the younger Clifton did coach Wall—he is also a former college player (Clemson and UNC-Greensboro).

Stephenson’s recruitment has come under fire, as well. On a visit to Maryland, one of his final three choices—as of press time, Kansas and hometown St. John’s were the others; he’s expected to decide a day or two before this issue hits newsstands—he visited the Under Armour headquarters in nearby Baltimore. The president of Under Armour, Kevin Plank, is a Maryland grad, former Terps football player and a booster for the basketball program.

“It was just an honest part of the trip. They gave us a tour and basically that was it,” says Stretch. “They showed us how they make sneakers, we met with the academic people, the coaches…we just saw the itinerary. If it was a violation, we didn’t know anything about it.”

With all that being said, it’s unlikely either player hangs around a college campus long enough for people to keep their recruitment at the forefront of their minds. Remember the hullabaloo when OJ chose USC? Are you still reeling from Eric Gordon signing with Indiana? Wherever Wall and Stephenson decide to go, expect a major impact.

“I think they play harder defense in college…but I don’t think anybody in college can stop me from scoring,” says Stephenson. “Playing college is a different experience, especially with a good coach who gets you prepared for the pros.”

“I can’t say I’m one and done,” he continues, conservatively. “If I play well next year, then I’ll come out, but if I think I need another year, I’ll stay until I’m ready.”

Wall takes it a step further, stating, “After my first year in college, I wanna be one of the top Lottery picks. You might see Lance and a couple other players in my class, too.

“I see myself in the NBA in two years, playing on somebody’s team, trying to lead a franchise to a championship,” he continues. “I just wanna be compared to one of the best point guards—maybe the best point guard—that ever played in the NBA.”

Ambitious, but not unrealistic. Still, when projecting them at the pro level, there are aspects of their games that need improvement. Wall’s biggest weakness is his J. While it has definitely improved since he first burst on to the scene, now that he has that target on his back, opposing teams try to make him shoot from the outside. With Lance, critics question his aforementioned attitude.

“I come from a tough environment, where everybody plays hard and uses a lot of aggressiveness…a lot of people don’t understand that, so I try to fix my attitude,” acknowledges Stephenson. “It’s really hard because that’s where I get my game from…sometimes it seems like people want me to mess up, but I just block that stuff out. I just play the game.”

“I listen to my mom and my coaches. They say, ‘You don’t wanna step down to anybody’s level,’ so I just try to dominate everybody,” says Wall. “It’s kinda tough, but I like the pressure because you gotta perform every night.”

That’s why they’re kids.

“With all that Lance has done to this point, it pretty much speaks for itself,” observes Eric Bossi, a recruiting analyst for Scout.com. “When you watch John and what he can do physically, it sets him apart.”

“Wall, he’s a natural. He has a combination of speed, athleticism and skill that puts him in a unique class,” concurs a coach from a high-major college program. “With Lance, anytime a player has a great reputation and performs at a high level under scrutiny, everybody takes their best shot. I always have tremendous respect for a player who continues to perform at a high level under those circumstances.”

In other words, don’t bank on them failing. One thing both of these two young men have in common: They’re competitors—they both wake up at 5 a.m. daily to work on their games, in preparation for the present and future—something that can’t be measured in Wall’s athleticism or Stephenson’s scoring outputs.

And unlike this story, the rest of their careers still remain to be told. Stay tuned.

He says he’s the best point guard in the 2009 Draft. Were we to compare him with the touted 2008 Draft class, he would’ve been one of the best PGs as well (Pooh might have something to say about that, of course). But here is Brandon Jennings, with a year of Italian living added to his already diverse experiences. His game isn’t without flaws, but Brandon couldn’t be more ready for the NBA. Other points watch your step.

It was November 24, 1999, and Stanley Roberts was early for practice. Timeliness had never been one of Roberts’ calling cards, but Philadelphia 76ers’ head coach Larry Brown, who had a special relationship with the big man, asked Roberts to arrive early for a meeting. And so he did.

Roberts was there. Brown was there. And, surprisingly, a disciplinary officer from the NBA who worked under Rod Thorn was also there. The officer produced an envelope, cracked it open and withdrew a letter. He read aloud the few sentences and handed the paper to Roberts. Stanley’s eyes confirmed what his ears had heard: Stanley Roberts had tested positive for high levels of amphetamines. And with that, Stanley Roberts became the first player banned under the NBA’s new anti-drug program.

“I loved the game. I didn’t like everything else that came with it,” Roberts says now. “You know, I enjoyed going out and playing in front of the fans, but everything else, I coulda did without. The autographs signings, the money—I didn’t care about that. And that’s why I gave most of it away.”

Stanley Roberts was a legit seven-footer, a hulking giant with the soft hands of a professional wide receiver. His talent gave him everything—cash, clothes, security. But his indulgences—eating, smoking and spending—would cost him millions and, ultimately, his NBA career.

Today, nearly a decade after flunking that drug test and washing out of the NBA, Roberts is in good spirits.

“I’m happy,” Roberts says from his dorm room in Baton Rouge, LA. He’s attempting to complete the college degree he abandoned at LSU nearly 20 years ago. “I got a house in Houston, my lady, a few cars and I have my four children. I am even happier now than I was with $30 million.”

Roberts was born a big kid in 1970, in the close-knit town of Hopkins, SC. It was the kind of place where neighbors had the authority to discipline neighbors’ kids. Roberts was a homebody. Despite having an older brother who played JuCo ball and uncles who balled at Coastal Carolina and for Bobby Cremins at Appalachian State, Roberts didn’t start hooping until the 8th grade.

“My first year, my concept of the game was zero,” Roberts recalls. “I didn’t go outside and play sports. In my first game, I didn’t realize you switched baskets after halftime. I scored six points for the other team shooting at the wrong basket.”

Roberts’ brother, Wayne, played at Lower Richland High School and asked the school’s varsity coach, Jim Childress, to look after his younger brother, an incoming sophomore. Roberts was already 6-7 but not serious about hoops and without the grades to play in ninth grade. Childress didn’t need much convincing to help the truck-sized youngster find his calling.

“Coach’s eyes got real big,” says Roberts. “He wanted me to play JV and work my way up. He wanted to take me to basketball camp and I said that if my mom said OK, I’d try. I went to camp and I found out I really sucked.”

Roberts never played on the JV team. After that first camp, his family took him to a playground and toughened him up. At a second camp, Lower Richland won the camp championship and Roberts was selected MVP. By his senior year, he was named to both the Dapper Dan and McDonald’s All-American teams.

“He had that brontosaurus rex body and soft hands. Body of a blacksmith, touch of a surgeon,” says Tom Konchalski. The legendary prep scout considered Roberts a Top-10 player in the class of ’88. “Good touch, was a good passer, but he was never in shape. More have been slain by suppers than by the sword.”

In April 1987, Roberts’ junior year, his brother Wayne shot and killed an 18-year-old and wounded two others in self-defense. The hearings coincided with Stanley’s recruitment. He had narrowed his choices to three schools: the University of SouthCarolina, Georgia Tech and LSU. “The judge was a South Carolina graduate and basically said that if I didn’t sign with SC, my brother would to go to jail for life,” Roberts says. “My mom worked at SC and received threats, which weren’t proven. My mother said not to commit until the trial ended, but it kept getting pushed back.”

Roberts chose LSU and Wayne was still cleared of all charges in early 1988. A state investigation couldn’t prove any wrongdoing against Roberts or his family. Lower Richland won a second straight state title, and Roberts finished his high school days being escorted by FBI agents for safety. He flew straight to LSU after graduating.

“I think what sold me on LSU was when Coach Dale Brown visited my home, sat down and said that I would be his friend and a part of his family, before I was an athlete,” said Roberts, who was joined by Chris Jackson (later Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf) in that year’s Tiger recruiting class.

Roberts didn’t qualify academically to play as a freshman. By the time he was eligible for the ’89-90 season, the Tigers had signed a second seven-footer to complement their sleeping giant: Shaquille O’Neal. “He was an excellent teammate, a good friend and was hard to stop. He had it all,” Shaq says ofRoberts now. “He was unstoppable.” During their one season together, the Tigers went 23-9 and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Roberts earned Third-Team All-SEC honors from the Associated Press and was second on LSU in scoring (14.1 ppg) and rebounding (9.8), to go along with 60 blocked shots. However, after two years of school and only one season of college ball, Roberts turned pro. “LSU said I left because of academics, and I’ll leave it at that. I was supposed to carry a 2.0 [grade point average]; I had a 1.7. I would have had to sit out that fall semester, and I didn’t want to. I decided to leave.”

Roberts missed the deadline to declare hardship and put his name in the NBA Draft, but he signed with an agent, Oscar Shoenfelt, who had a tryout lined up with Real Madrid. Roberts says Real made him the highest-paid player in Europe at 19, but he racked up more than $150,000 in fines during his one season there. “It was different. The two-a-days taught me that it was a job and you had to treat it like it was a business,” Roberts recalls. “All of the fun that you enjoyed in high school and college kind of left. The only time I felt it was fun was playing in front of fans.”

When he got back to the States, Roberts toured numerous NBA cities to showcase himself for the ’91 Draft. Because he was rapidly gaining weight, he slipped from the Lottery and was selected by the Orlando Magic with the 23rd overall pick. The extra pounds would continue to hinder his development. Despite missing nearly 30 games due to injuries, Roberts showed real promise as a rookie, posting solid averages of 10 ppg and 6 rpg and being named Second-Team All-Rookie.

Still, one year after Roberts was drafted, guess who showed up in Orlando? The Magic won the Draft Lottery and selected Shaq with the first pick in ’92. Orlando had only signed Roberts for one year but owned his rights for three. Roberts remembers, “Dallas was very interested in me and I flew out and signed a contract with the Mavericks. They put an increase in pay if I get traded, all these things in in my favor ’cause they didn’t want Orlando to try to match the contract and bring me back, which they ended up doing anyway. I was upset ’cause I really wanted to play with Dallas. I went to see Pat Williams, the Magic GM and I said, I’m going to buy a house, but I’ll get an apartment if you’re gonna trade me. I was assured that my future was in Orlando. Two weeks later the Magic call and say, ‘We have a three-way deal to trade you to the Clippers.’ I had just signed papers on the house.”

Roberts says he fought the trade. “They’ll never admit this type of stuff, but Williams said, basically, ‘Shaquille don’t want to play with you. If you stay, you’re gonna be at the end of the bench.’ It hurt. This is the first time—other than telling my friends and a few people—I’ve said it publicly,” Roberts confides. “I was pissed off more than anything because I just bought a house for over half a million dollars and if I didn’t accept the trade, they were going to kill my career.”

Roberts eventually agreed to the trade to L.A., where he worked under Larry Brown, who had been brought on to turn the Clips around. Brown and Roberts formed a unique friendship, becoming close when Brown had to convince Roberts that the situation in L.A. was right for him. “I remember trying to recruit Stanley like you would a college kid,” the now-Bobcat coach says with a sparkle in his eye. “You know, I always thought he needed to be in a little better shape, but that was coming. He tried for me. He was a fun kid to be around, and I thought he had an unbelievable upside. He was so quick, athletic, explosive. I thought he had a real chance.”In L.A., Roberts started to find a groove on the court. Off it, however, life was difficult. He ran up tremendous debt buying lavish cars and giving away most of his earnings. At one point, Roberts had seven people living with him in L.A.—he eventually left the house to his guests and rented himself an apartment. “I was out there alone,” he says. “I was out there with people who were sharks and I didn’t know who to trust.”

In ’93-94, Roberts ruptured his Achilles. By that time, Brown had left to take a job with the Indiana Pacers and couldn’t make a move for Roberts. Roberts missed the entire ’94-95 season with injuries, and then the street element he’d never been exposed to in South Carolina really hit his life. “There was pressure and I didn’t want to think about basketball,” Roberts says. “I didn’t want to deal with the Clippers so I started hanging out with people from the streets, the Bloods and the Crips. I felt comfortable. They understood me.”

By the start of training camp in ’96, Roberts’ relationship with the Clips’ latest coach, Bill Fitch, was rocky at best. Roberts says he asked to come to training camp a day late to witness the birth of one of his four children and then had what he says is the only run-in he ever had with any coach. “I came back with pain in my lower back and Coach Fitch didn’t believe me. He huddled us up and started saying, ‘Some of us came in late and out of shape.’ And I just lost it,” Roberts admits. “I said, You bad-heart having sonofabitch! He’d just had a triple bypass. Had Lorenzen Wright not stopped me, I would have been the first Latrell Sprewell.”

Fitch kicked Roberts out of camp, but GM Elgin Baylor kept him on the team. Roberts played in 18 games for the Clippers but wasn’t re-signed at the end of the season. He joined the Minnesota Timberwolves in ’97-98 for what would be his last full season. Roberts posted decent numbers (6 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block per game) in limited action but still struggled with weight and injury issues, as well as mocking teammates. Stanley did, however, find words of encouragement from his T-Wolves teammate, Kevin Garnett.

“I grew up in ACC/SEC country and watched a lot of basketball, so he’s a guy I watched play a lot,” says KG, himself a South Carolina native and prep legend. “I’m going to stand up for anyone that’s getting picked on. Stanley was an interesting guy, a different type of personality, but he was a great teammate. Really nice guy off the court who—when he wanted to—was able to really be an animal on it.”

Unfortunately, Roberts never had that confidence in himself. He ate excessively, smoked marijuana and used other drugs during his NBA career. Foolish generosity and bad investments plagued his portfolio and he found himself barely hanging on to his once lucrative source of income. He signed in Greece during the ’98-99 NBA lockout , then joined the Houston Rockets once it ended. He was injured again and only played in six games.

In October of ’99, Larry Brown again recruited Roberts, this time for the Philadelphia 76ers, where Stan became friendly with Allen Iverson, Larry Hughes and Eric Snow. Philly would go on to play in the Eastern Conference Semis, though without Stanley—the drug suspension had ended his season. “Once that happened, there wasn’t much I could do,” recalls Brown. “That killed me because I had no idea. If I had an idea of what was going on, maybe I could have helped. Stanley could have played forever. He would have been able to help us in Philly.”

The ban was supposed to last two years, but Roberts was arrested for cocaine possession in 2000 and the suspension was extended a year. He sued FIBA for upholding the ban and blocking him from signing with a team in Turkey. In 2003, the Toronto Raptors signed him, but he couldn’t get in shape in time for training camp. After a quick summer playing in Puerto Rico, Roberts’ career was over. “I don’t even think I’m going to be remembered,” he says. “They don’t bring my name up too often, but when they do, it’s always because I was the first player suspended under the new drug policy. I was a poster child.”

Once Roberts’ career ended, the money ran out. Since then, he’s worked odd jobs, once as a security guard and another as a “car broker” in the Houston area. Nothing seemed to stick. With few options remaining, Roberts returned to LSU and restarted his education in the fall of ’07.

“I’ve been spending the past six years getting my life back on track,” Roberts says. “Coach (Dale) Brown stayed on me all these years about finishing school. It’s a change for me. When I was first here, we only had about four of five computers on the whole campus; now you even take your tests online.”

Though Roberts missed out on much of the glory of a pro sports career, he never stopped enjoying the game. He’s now about 18 months from earning a Bachelor’s Degree in sports management (he says he’s got a 3.2 GPA at the moment) and hopes to get into coaching. His education is being funded by financial aid and the Dale Brown Foundation. Roberts has gone back to church and spends time working with a substance abuse program. Because of the many physical problems he’s had in his post-playing career, Roberts is attempting to receive disability benefits. He never asked for much out of life and definitely got more than he expected. Now he’s hoping to move on to a simpler life, one without the headaches and heartbreaks he’s already endured.

“My goal, my dream my whole life was just owning a little house, having a wife and family, that’s all I ever wanted. I didn’t ask for this. It was never my dream to be an NBA player,” Roberts admits. “Everybody else threw me into it because of the money. I was pushed. Everybody told me I should play ball, but nobody ever stopped and thought what I thought my life should be like.”e

(WASHINGTON, D.C. — April 16, 2009) Brandon Jennings, a 19-year-old American professional basketball player for Lottomatica Roma in Italy’s Lega A1 Euroleague, will donate $50,000 to the National Italian American Foundation’s (NIAF)/Abruzzo Relief Fund. Immediately following the news of the earthquake, the Foundation established a special NIAF/Abruzzo Relief Fund to help the victims and their families who perished from the earthquake in the town of L’Aquila and other small towns in central Italy in the region of Abruzzo.

“After living in Rome this year, my family has found a second home. When I heard about the devastation of the earthquake I knew I had to do something,” Jennings said. “Growing up in Southern California, I am no stranger to earthquakes and after seeing on television and on the internet how many people died and how many families lost everything, I wanted to do my part,” Jennings added.

“It’s extraordinary to see a young man who is new to Italy respond so quickly and reach out with such a generous donation to make a difference in the lives of so many of those families that are suffering from the devastating earthquake,” NIAF Acting Chairman Jerry Colangelo said.

Jennings forwent college to begin his professional basketball career in Rome, Italy. He was the 2008 Naismith Male Player of the Year, 2008 Parade Magazine Player of the Year, 2008 EA Sports Player of the Year, 2007-08 MaxPreps National Player of the Year, a 2008 McDonald’s All-American and the 2008 number one ranked high school senior by ESPN. He attended high school at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia where he averaged 32.7 points, 7.5 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 5.0 steals in his senior season. A native of Compton, California, Jennings now resides in Rome with his mother Alice Knox and his 13-year-old brother, Terrence Phillips.

Individuals, corporations and foundations who wish to donate to the NIAF/Abruzzo Relief Fund can make their donations online atwww.niaf.org/relief. All donations are tax deductible. Every dollar contributed will go directly to the victims. For more information about NIAF’s efforts in L’Aquila and its neighboring towns, visit www.niaf.org/relief for the latest updates.

The National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting the heritage and culture of Americans of Italian descent.

This issue has been teased in various places, on here an elsewhere, but today, finally, is the official unveiling. As always, I’m excited to share it with our readers, most of whom should be able to buy it this weekend in NYC and next week everywhere else.

As far as explaining why we did this dope, original split cover, I don’t think I could say it better than I did in my “6th Man” Editor’s Letter from the issue, so I’m going to reprint that below and then I’ll close with some of the details about availability.

Here’s my letter, word for word:

>>Something for Everyone…

…Everyone interested in who their favorite sport’s future stars are, that is. As far as content in our magazine, there is no disputing that SLAM is always looking ahead. We featured Ricky Rubio when few people had ever even heard of him. We put the spotlight on Lance Stephenson before he’d finished his freshman year of high school, and our Punks section brings you the nation’s best prep players on a monthly basis (such as Brandon Jennings about one year ago). You get the point.

So what made us flip the usual script of putting future stars in the mag while the NBA’s top dogs grace the cover? A dash of daring combined with two unique opportunities and the understanding that Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade aren’t going anywhere. The daring comes from our willingness to try something different. Is it just stars who sell SLAM, or have we reached the point in this, our 15th year, where basketball-loving magazine buyers can trust that even if they don’t instantly realize the face(s) on our illustrious front page, the players must be dope because we say they are? The SLAM staff is obviously counting on the latter.

The opportunities came from two once-this-season meetings. The first, which jump-started the entire conversation regarding this cover, was knowing that Brandon’s Lottomattica Roma team was meeting Ricky’s DKV Joventut in Spain last December 11. Sure, we figured every hoop journalist worth their salt would be hounding these great prospects that week, but it couldn’t hurt to ask for some time, right? Well, either no one asked or these guys chose us, because they graciously gave us more than two hours of their time.

Once we had the big international cover locked up, we decided to cover our bases with a look at the two most compelling prep guards in America. Sure enough, just 10 days after Ricky and Brandon were in the same city at the same time, John Wall and Lance were in the same city at the same time. We reached out to those guys, dispatched Kelly Kline (see below) for her second big job in two weeks, and arguably the coolest split cover in SLAM history was born. We sat on them for a minute while Kobe and DWade did their thing, but with high school All-American games here and Draft buzz increasing, the time had come. The future is now.<<

Not that I expect too many questions after people have really looked at these covers…I’m expecting more of the “Damn, you guys are good”-type comments.

As for availability, all newsstands in the US will have both covers. That is still the biggest part of our business and we want you all to have a choice. Overseas outlets will most likely just have Ricky-Brandon (for obvious reasons), and subscribers will get Ricky-Brandon as there wasn’t a regional split that made sense. The best solution for people who want both covers? Go to simbackissues.com, click on SLAM and buy ’em both.

You might remember the day in December when, apropos of nothing, I popped up in Barcelona to file game notes from the match between Ricky Rubio and Brandon Jennings? Well, as is often the case with SLAM, there was a little more going on than meets the eye. I was actually in Barcelona because we did a cover shoot the evening before with the two best point guards in the world who aren’t in the NBA: Ricky Rubio and Brandon Jennings.

The most amazing thing — by far — to me about this cover was that SLAM was the only media outlet not only at the game, but also the only outlet that cared enough about basketball to even ask about doing a photo shoot with Ricky and Brandon. We asked Ricky and Brandon if they’d give us the time, and surprisingly, they both agreed to, rather graciously. We obviously don’t have the limitless resources of SI or ESPN, but when this came together I hopped on a flight to Barcelona to be in the casa for it.

We shot this in a studio in the shadow of La Sagrada Familia, the perpetually under construction cathedral in Barcelona. Brandon was in town with Roma, and he showed up in a taxi. Ricky’s parents brought him (Ricky didn’t have his driver’s license yet but was taking lessons). They’d never met before, and Ricky’s English is good enough that they were able to talk and hang out. We were at the studio ntil after 11:00 p.m., doing the photos and the interviews. And Ricky’s parents are so nice — when they heard we hadn’t bought tickets to see Ricky and Brandon play yet on for the following night, they demanded we go with them and sit with them.

The point I tried to make in the story was that as basketball fans, we’re living in a totally new world. Because for the first time ever, if you wanted to see the two best NBA point guard prospects in the world, you couldn’t do it on ESPN or CBS. You needed YouTube and a Euroleague subscription and Google alerts. Brandon changed the game for US players, and Ricky’s changing it for European players.

Obviously, the cover line says Ricky and Brandon are ready to rock the NBA. And they both are. I can promise you that. I know whenever we mentioned either of them in a post, a lot of you guys start saying there’s no way these kids will make it, they’re not that good, etc. To which I say, you are wrong. I respect your right to have an opinion, but you’re not correct if you think Ricky and Brandon won’t be NBA stars.

We’ll find out soon enough. Brandon is definitely in the Draft this year. (When I asked him if he was going to enter the Draft, he not only said yes immediately but he also mentioned the date of the Draft off the top of his head.)

But is Ricky going to be in the Draft this year? Well, I don’t have a concrete answer for you. When I asked Ricky if he was going to be in the Draft, he said this:

SLAM: Do you want to play in the NBA next year, or I mean what’s your…?

RR: At the moment I only thinking Euro[pe]—

SLAM: Next year, yeah.

RR: ACB. So I don’t thinking NBA. Yeah, I think—

SLAM: Eventually—

RR: I watch NBA. I think NBA. But no, at the moment, no.

Since then, I’ve heard many rumors. I’ve heard that Ricky’s contract buyout is so big (the number I heard was about $10 million) that he might not be able to buy it out and would have to wait until the contract expires next summer. I’ve heard a rumor that his team in Spain, DKV Joventut, could use the cash and would be willing to take less to let Ricky out of his deal. And I’ve heard most recently that negotiations are underway as I type this to get Ricky out of his contract.

I don’t know where the truth resides in this equation, but I will say this: I would not be surprised to see Ricky and Brandon both in the NBA next season. In the meantime, if you want to see them or hear from them, pick up the new SLAM, on newsstands everywhere next week. Copies are on the way to the Rubios as I type this, and Brandon got his copy yesterday and sent me an email that said, “Thanks for writing a great story, for the new SLAM on Me and Ricky. The COVER is HOT.”

Agreed. Here’s a little video I shot at the shoot, and it includes a few clips of each guy doing his thing. You can see it on YouTube here.

With Ricky Rubio and Brandon Jennings, this makes sense. Teenage pro phenoms, one an Olympian, the other a trailblazer (not literally, I hope—that would take “Pritch-slapped” to a new level), playing major roles on top European squads, blah blah blah. Yeah, SLAM is bold, cutting edge, whatever—but knowledgeable basketball fans in general won’t be shocked. Even the most devout high school hoops observers, however, couldn’t have predicted they’d see John Wall and Lance Stephenson on a cover. Not at this point, anyway.

Well, maybe Lance. He is from Coney Island, after all (third time’s the charm?), and graced this publication’s pages as a precocious point-producing phenom before he started the 10th grade. That was after he already took home a NYC PSAL (Public School Athletic League) title (the first of four consecutive; what up, Franklyn), after he faced off with then-rising senior OJ Mayo at ABCD Camp before he entered high school and after he was already a regular playing with and against grown men at the Rucker.

On the other hand, it was before the BK native’s well-publicized (blown out of proportion) off-court incidents, before he was (in)famously cut from the USA Under-18 National Team last summer, before his bornready.tv online documentary (which just moved onto real TV earlier this week) and before most talent evaluators (not this one) dropped him from the top spot in their rankings. Basically, people got tired of Lance Stephenson.

John Wall, though? That’s another story. A lot of casual observers of the prep scene have never even seen him play. Up until about two years ago, even the most ardent national scouts barely knew the kid’s name. So how did a skinny, unknown kid from Raleigh emerge as the most talked-about prospect in the nation? I feel almost privileged to explain his rise to stardom, as I was an eyewitness.

It started in Chicago, back in June of ’07. Reebok held a tryout camp for lesser-known players and underclassmen to battle for the opportunity to be selected to their invite-only camp in Philly. Wall stole the show in the Chi, then repeated his performance with an encore at the big show a month later, alongside names like the aforementioned Jennings.

His unbelievable athleticism and mind-blowing were the attributes that immediately stuck out, but since then, he’s continued to hone his game. Last summer, his stock went through the roof, as he destroyed any and all comers on the AAU and camp circuit, leading many to rank him as the nation’s top prospect.

I last saw Wall play over the holidays in Florida, and his development was remarkable to me. Tighter ballhandling, an improved J (albeit streaky; still a work in progress, but it was non-existent before), even better playmaking ability and most importantly, newfound leadership skills are what caught my eye. Wall has transformed from a monster athlete into a real ballplayer, and possibly a future All-Star NBA point guard, to boot. The tools were always there, but these days, the production is starting to match the potential.

As for Lance, don’t believe the hate. “Born Ready” still dominates at will (ask the West squad about his second-half performance in Wednesday night’s McDonald’s Game; don’t get me started on why Wall wasn’t in it, or, for that matter, why Lance won’t be in the Jordan game in his hometown, in which Wall will participate), but, in my opinion, not enough people are noticing. Sure, they see the stats—as well as the four city chips, two state crowns and the all-time New York state scoring record—but all you hear is negativity. Remind you of anybody else’s prep career? A certain rookie on the Grizzlies, perhaps? Think about it. Both born scorers. Both nationally known since before the ninth grade. Both heavily criticized for on and off the court issues. Both determined as hell to succeed.

And despite his lack of hype prior to this point, that goes for Wall, too. I could go on and on about their individual games, but I’ve always been a proof-is-in-the-pudding type of dude and I’m pretty damn confident that in two years (if you think them killing their respective one-and-done years isn’t a foregone conclusion, you’re probably on the wrong site), these two will show and prove as NBA rookies. I’m not saying they’ll be better than OJ and Derrick Rose. But if comparisons aren’t being made, I’ll be very surprised. So, international intrigue aside (and believe me, I’m sold on Ricky and Brandon, too), these two homegrown and domestically-developed guards have a chance to be very special for years to come. Just don’t say you weren’t warned…